Ever.
And especially,
why it's your favorite.
I posted this here, because I don't mean your favorite Meat Loaf album, although if your favorite one is one of his, that's cool. But I mean the one that you would pick if you had to choose just one album.
While we each have our favorite artists, it doesn't necessarily mean that our favorite album has to be one of theirs. Like mine, for instance.
Bruce Springsteen is my favorite artist, but my very favorite album is not one of his at all, but one of Frank Zappa's-
You Are What You Is.
Now, I realize that Zappa's a bit of an acquired taste. Most people who aren't that familiar with his music just know of him for how weird he was. And he was weird, but he was also very intelligent, had a wicked sense of humor, and was extremely politically incorrect. He was also an extremely talented guitarist and songwriter. His real dream was to write modern classical music, and he did that in his later years; but Rock & Roll paid the bills, so he did that first.
My listening has barely scratched the surface of everything he has released; according to Wiki, he released 62 albums while he was alive, and his family released 25 more posthumously. I don't like everything of his I've heard, but what I do like, I like a
lot. And I like
You Are What You Is. It's one of the few (if not only) albums I always listen to all the way through.
I guess it's kind of loosely a concept album. In the first song, a kid is stuck at home on Friday night watching the tube; many of the rest of the songs relate in some way to television, but he also "comments" on society as well.
One of the cool things, though, (Frank's biting wit aside) is how all the songs are written in different styles, including Country (
Harder Than Your Husband), Doo-Wop (
Doreen), Reggae (
Goblin Girl), Blues (
Suicide Chump), and Rap (
Dumb All Over), yet they all go together so well.
Frank pokes fun at televangelists (
Heavenly Bank Account), yet comments on organized religion in general with
Dumb All Over and
The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing.
Charlie's Enormous Mouth is at the same time a commercial spoof (remember
Charlie cologne commercials?) while it is a commentary on drug use (Zappa has always been anti-drug). There's even a song called
Conehead, which is about, yes that's right- the Conehead sketch on SNL. (Frank guested on the show and played Connie's date in the sketch- hilarious.)
The album also has a few blistering guitar solos, the one in
Any Downers? being one of my favorites. (If you want to see a really awesome one, though not from this album, check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFIMWRXWY90)
Unfortunately, I never got to see him live; I had tickets once and couldn't make the show.
Anyway, that's my favorite album; now tell me about yours!
